Here's the good news for Ole Miss: The Rebels are very much in the mix for Hallandale, Fla., three-star cornerback Ricardo Dixon.

Here's the flip-side of the proverbial coin: Despite already hosting the speedy Dixon on an official visit last month in Oxford, the Rebels don't appear to have a lead for his signature.

"It's pretty much still the same," Dixon said, referring to his status as a commitment to South Florida who is giving serious consideration to flipping his loyalties to Ole Miss. "I haven't taken my official to South Florida. It's a close race, but it just depends on my visit and how it goes."

Dixon will visit South Florida on Jan. 16, Rutgers on Jan. 23 and West Virginia on Jan. 29.

"Most likely, I'm looking at time to play as a freshman," Dixon said. "When I go to school, I'm going to do what I have to do because I'm going to want to play football."

Instead, Dixon said he's focused on finding a school that is coached by "coaches that won't leave to go to another school for money," and a university that has a strong psychology program. Here's more bad news for both the Bulls and the Rebels: Rutgers is a bit of a long shot to land Dixon, but West Virginia has piqued his interest.

"I just have to see if I like what I see on the visit," Dixon said. "I don't know much about them. That's why I say they can move in. It just depends on my visits. West Virginia kind of kept in contact with me, and Coach Doc Holliday wanted me to come up on a visit and I told them I would."

As for the Rebels and Bulls, Dixon emphasized the close relationship he has with Ole Miss cornerbacks coach/recruiting coordinator Chris Vaughn, but he indicated a closer bond with the South Florida staff as a whole

"I talk to Coach Vaughn every day," Dixon said. "I e-mail him as much as I can. I keep in contact with the South Florida coaches. It's pretty much the same, but I can say I know pretty much all the South Florida staff. At Ole Miss, I know five or six of the coaches."

Ole Miss landed a commitment from his Hallandale teammate, three-star all-purpose back Korvic Neat, last month. Dixon said that won't impact his decision.

"He's doing what he's got to do to go to school," Dixon said. "A lot of people were thinking it would have an impact on me and me and him talked about it, but it didn't have an impact on me."

Both of his favorites had strong bowl game performances, as did West Virginia, though Dixon said those postseason games won't matter when he makes a decision, something that he doesn't plan to do until National Signing Day on Feb. 4.

"I knew if South Florida played to their potential and cut out their mistakes, they could beat any team, and I knew Ole Miss was good, so it wasn't a factor," Dixon said.